The Hairdresser Strong Show

In this episode,https://www.instagram.com/thesavvytouch/Savannah, aka The Savvy Touch, 10-year industry veteran, educator, content creator, and founder ofCIRL (Curls in Real Life), joins us to share how she built her personal brand and turned her success behind the chair into new opportunities.

Savannah talks about building clientele in new cities, growing her social media presence, working with brands, and becoming an educator. She shares how mentorship, consistency, and staying true to herself helped her grow her business, along with what she's learned about making money through content and brand partnerships.

We also get into her latest venture, CIRL, a platform bringing artists and educators together through education and community. Savannah shares her vision for what's next and advice for stylists looking to grow their careers beyond the chair.

✨Presented by GlossGenius✨

Earn more and get your time back with GlossGenius. Use code STRONG at http://glossgenius.com/hairdresserstrong for 50% off your first two months of a premium plan.

Key Takeaways:

🔅 Build your skills before trying to build a platform - Savannah believes too many newer stylists are focused on becoming content creators before developing their technical foundation. Her advice is to spend time learning the craft, gaining experience, and building something valuable to share before chasing influence or education opportunities.

🔅 Your content needs to look and sound like you - Savannah credits much of her growth to creating a recognizable identity instead of constantly following trends. Her consistent style, personality, and approach to education have helped people immediately recognize her work. She encourages stylists to stop trying to recreate someone else's success and develop their own voice.

🔅 Word of mouth is still one of the strongest ways to build clientele - Even with a significant social media presence, Savannah says personal recommendations have been her most valuable source of new clients. Social media can attract attention, but a client who has experienced your work and recommends you to someone else brings a different level of trust.

🔅 You can build clientele before moving to a new city - When Savannah relocated to the DMV, she started creating locally targeted content months before arriving. By tagging nearby cities and building a waitlist, she was able to begin booking clients shortly after her move rather than starting completely from scratch.

🔅 Brand partnerships are about credibility, not follower count - Savannah began earning money through brand content before she had a massive following. She explains that brands value educators who understand their products, can explain why they use them, and create meaningful conversations with their audience. She also shares why she's willing to turn down partnerships that don't align with what she genuinely believes in.

🔅 Mentorship can open doors you didn't know existed - Savannah credits her mentor, Lisa of Forever Curls, with helping her develop as an educator and creating opportunities for her to grow. Being around someone who challenged her, believed in her abilities, and introduced her to new experiences played a major role in her career.

🔅 Content creation is a business that takes real work - Savannah breaks down the time and effort behind producing content, from recording and editing to voiceovers, planning, and delivering on brand agreements. She explains why content creation eventually became something she had to dedicate specific working time to rather than squeezing it in between clients.

🔅 Know when your personal brand is ready to become something bigger - Savannah created CIRL (Curls in Real Life) because she wanted to build an education and community platform that could grow beyond The Savvy Touch. Her goal is to bring different educators and techniques into the spotlight, create new opportunities, and give professionals a reason to keep coming back.

🔅 Consistency matters more than waiting for the perfect opportunity - Savannah encourages stylists to put themselves out there, take action, and keep improving. Whether you're creating content, teaching your first class, or approaching a mentor, showing up consistently creates opportunities that wouldn't exist if you waited until you felt completely ready.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow The Savvy Touch on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cirleducation/

📸Follow CIRL on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cirleducation/

🔗 Check out Savannah's linktr.ee for upcoming classes, CIRL events, products, and social media - https://linktr.ee/thesavvytouch

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Jessica (Jess) Udovich, Stylist at Salon Blonde and VoMor Extension Educator, shares her journey from cosmetology school to working in a commission salon and becoming a brand educator, along with her perspective on how social media influences new stylists' career decisions.

Jess talks about why certain apprenticeship programs turned her away, what attracted her to her current salon, and how hands-on experience and supportive leadership helped her grow. We also discuss how salons can better attract and retain new talent, the realities behind the career paths promoted on social media, and why understanding what young stylists actually want matters for both employers and students.

✨Presented by GlossGenius✨

Earn more and get your time back with GlossGenius. Use code STRONG at http://glossgenius.com/hairdresserstrong for 50% off your first two months of a premium plan.

Key Takeaways:

🔅 How you present your salon matters - Jess wasn't opposed to structured training. She was turned off by salons that made her feel like everything she'd learned in beauty school didn't count. Owners should explain how their programs build on existing skills and help new stylists advance, rather than making the experience sound like starting school all over again.

🔅 Get new talent working with clients sooner - Jess valued being able to practice her skills and gradually take clients while continuing to assist and learn. Salon owners can create opportunities for newer stylists to perform services they're ready for, with appropriate supervision and support, instead of making them wait until they've completed an entire training program.

🔅 Social media shapes how students see their career options - The freedom and flexibility of independence can look appealing online, but the business responsibilities aren't always part of the conversation. Students should look beyond the lifestyle being promoted and understand what it takes to build clientele, manage expenses, and earn a sustainable income.

🔅 Industry days are recruiting opportunities - Jess's experience shows how much an employer's first impression matters. The way salon representatives describe their culture, training, and expectations can influence whether a student wants to apply. Owners should use these opportunities to show students what working for them could actually look like.

🔅 Meet new stylists where they are - Jess appreciated that her salon recognized what she already knew and helped her improve where she needed additional experience. Training should account for individual readiness instead of assuming every graduate needs the same amount of time or instruction before advancing.

🔅 Retention requires ongoing conversations - Jess admits there were times she considered leaving the industry. Her salon owner's willingness to listen, adjust, and support her development played an important role in keeping her there. Owners need to understand how their employees' goals are changing and how they can continue creating opportunities for them.

🔅 Career growth doesn't have to mean leaving your salon - Jess's move into extension education gave her another way to pursue her interest in teaching while continuing to work behind the chair. For students, it's an example of how a salon career can lead to opportunities beyond servicing clients. For owners, it's a reminder that supporting employees' interests outside their daily services can help keep them engaged.

🔅 The salon experience is part of the education - From understanding scheduling and salon operations to learning how to track performance and build a clientele, Jess gained experience that went beyond technical skills. Students should consider what they'll learn about the business of hairdressing when evaluating their first employer.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Jess on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/Jess_Atrim/

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Kelly McCarthy-Westbrook, Vice President of Member Development at My Salon Suite, joins us for a practical conversation about what actually separates successful independent beauty pros.

She talks about knowing your numbers, managing money without letting emotion drive every decision, keeping clients coming back, setting goals, and understanding that being great behind the chair does not automatically mean you know how to run a business. She also shares why independence is not the right fit for everyone, how professionals can pivot without viewing the change as failure, and the different career paths available throughout the beauty industry.

For salon owners, Kelly also offers insight into what can make a team environment attractive to modern talent, including clear career paths, strong culture, expectations, structure, and a sense of community.

✨Presented by GlossGenius✨

Earn more and get your time back with GlossGenius. Use code STRONG at http://glossgenius.com/hairdresserstrong for 50% off your first two months of a premium plan.

Key Takeaways:

🔅 Independence is still business ownership - Moving into a suite removes some of the responsibilities of running a traditional salon, but you are still responsible for managing revenue, expenses, clients, pricing, marketing, and your own financial decisions.

🔅 Know your numbers before you make the move - Kelly emphasizes looking beyond revenue alone. Your schedule, client count, retention, services per client, retail, referrals, expenses, and available cash all help determine whether the business is actually working.

🔅 Keep business money and personal money separate - One of the biggest problems Kelly sees is money blending together. A business can appear busy and still create financial stress when income, expenses, and personal spending are not being managed intentionally.

🔅 A full book today does not guarantee a full book tomorrow - Successful independents still need to understand retention, referrals, client acquisition, and how to replace natural client attrition over time. The business needs attention even when the chair is busy.

🔅 Independence is not automatically the next level - Some professionals thrive working for a salon, some want to build and lead a team, and others want to work independently. Kelly encourages professionals to understand which path actually fits the career and life they want instead of assuming one model is inherently better.

🔅 A pivot is not necessarily a failure - Someone may move into a suite and later realize they miss structure, camaraderie, support, or simply do not want the responsibility of managing every part of the business. Changing direction can be a smart business decision.

🔅 Your career can expand without leaving the industry - Education, sales, brand work, school education, leadership, ownership, and independent work can all become part of a beauty professional's career. Kelly's career shows how many different directions a cosmetology license can lead.

🔅 Salon owners need to show people what staying can lead to - Clear career paths, culture, expectations, structure, and community make it easier for talent to understand what their future can look like inside a salon.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Kelly on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kmacwestmss/

📸 Follow My Salon Suite on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mysalonsuite/

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Brooke LeMasters, 2026 NAHA Haircolor Winner, hair colorist, educator, and salon owner of Bombshell Hair Studio, joins us to talk about intentional artistry, brand-building, competition work, and creating color with a stronger point of view.

Brooke talks about building a name through intentional work, client experience, competitions, education, and creative risk. She shares that her brand isn't just a logo or social media presence, but how she approaches consultation, custom formulation, color placement, client care, and the artistic decisions behind the work.

Presented by GlossGenius

Earn more and get your time back with GlossGenius. Use code STRONG at http://glossgenius.com/hairdresserstrong for 50% off your first two months of a premium plan.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Your brand is more than your logo - Brooke talks about brand as the way people experience your work. For her, that includes intention, consultation, custom formulas, color placement, scalp massage, hot towels, and making the client feel cared for. The brand is not just what people see online. It is what they feel in the chair.

🔅Intentional work builds trust - Brooke’s approach starts with understanding the client’s life, hair, likes, dislikes, and goals before creating a roadmap with them. That level of intention helps clients feel included, comfortable, and confident in the process.

🔅Custom work can become part of your signature - Brooke shares that she likes working with color lines that allow her to mix from scratch using neutrals and pure pigments. That customization becomes part of the value because clients know the formula and placement were created specifically for them.

🔅Competitions require more than talent - Brooke breaks down how competition work involves planning, practice, models, wigs, wefts, photography, makeup, wardrobe, studio time, equipment, and investment. Winning is not just about having a good idea. It is about understanding the full production behind the image.

🔅Start before it looks perfect - Brooke’s first competition submission was not a major production. She shot it in her salon, did a lot of it herself, and used it to get a feel for the process. The lesson is to start, learn, and build from there instead of waiting until every piece is perfect.

🔅Find people who are better than you - One of Brooke’s strongest pieces of advice is to find someone doing what you want to do at a higher level, then ask to learn from them. Her competition path changed when she reached out, assisted, shadowed, asked questions, and built relationships with people already doing the work.

🔅Purpose gives technique direction - Brooke’s class, Color With Purpose, focuses on the relationships between formulation, placement, contrast, tone, and theory. The point is not just knowing the color wheel. It is understanding why something works so stylists can make stronger decisions behind the chair.

🎤 Brooke LeMasters will be taking the stage at the TAPIstry Unveiled Hair Show & Art Expo on October 26th in Hagerstown, MD, where she’ll teach Color With Purpose, a class focused on the relationships between formulation, placement, contrast, tone, and technique so beauty professionals can create color that feels more intentional, customized, and refined.

🎟️Tickets + event details: http://www.theartistspaletteinvolved.org/hair-show-2026

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Taylor Jameson, Sassoon-trained educator, platform artist, and mentor, and Lisa Houck, salon owner, master cosmetologist, and educator, talk about why foundational education still matters, how understanding the “why” behind cutting and color gives stylists more creative control, and why consultation, communication, and technical decision-making are essential to creating stronger results behind the chair.

For stylists, students, educators, and salon leaders, this conversation explores the balance between technique and artistry: how to build a real foundation, develop your artistic voice, avoid chasing trends without understanding them, and keep growing through mentorship, education, and hands-on learning.

🚨🎤 Taylor Jameson and Lisa Houck will also be taking the stage at the TAPIstry Unveiled Hair Show & Art Expo on October 26th in Hagerstown, MD. Taylor will bring her cutting and razor education to the stage, while Lisa will share color education focused on creativity, client consultation, and helping stylists create stronger results with more confidence.

🎟️ Tickets + event details: http://www.theartistspaletteinvolved.org/hair-show-2026

Key Takeaways:

🔅Foundations make creativity stronger - Taylor and Lisa both point back to the importance of foundational education. The goal is not to limit creativity. It is to give stylists enough structure to understand what they are doing, repeat their results, and make better creative decisions behind the chair.

🔅The “why” matters as much as the “how” - A stylist can learn a haircut, a color placement, or a trend, but without understanding why it works, it is harder to adjust it for the person in the chair. Strong education helps stylists connect technique to the client’s hair, goals, lifestyle, and desired result.

🔅Consultation is part of the technical work - Lisa talks about how stylists have to understand what the client wants, what their needs are, how much time they are willing to spend, what features they want to bring out, and how they want to feel. The service does not start with the formula or the cut. It starts with the conversation.

🔅Do not chase trends before learning the basics - Whether it is balayage, fashion color, razor cutting, or a specific haircut, the trend is not the foundation. The foundation is what allows the stylist to understand how to get there, when to adjust, and how to protect the integrity of the hair.

🔅Your artistic voice needs something underneath it - Developing a signature style or artistic voice is not only about being creative, cool, or different. Taylor makes the point that you have to know what you are talking about. Your personality may get attention, but your foundation is what keeps people trusting your work.

🔅One good takeaway can change your work - Taylor talks about the value of walking away from a class or show with even one thing you actually use. Education does not have to transform everything overnight. The real value comes when you take one useful idea, bring it back to the salon, and implement it.

🔅Mentorship and education help protect the future of the industry - The conversation keeps coming back to students, new stylists, educators, and the next generation. Taylor and Lisa connect education with confidence, inspiration, community, scholarships, and giving back so stylists can keep growing instead of learning in isolation.

🚨🎤 Taylor Jameson and Lisa Houck will also be taking the stage at the TAPIstry Unveiled Hair Show & Art Expo on October 26th in Hagerstown, MD. Taylor will bring her cutting and razor education to the stage, while Lisa will share color education focused on creativity, client consultation, and helping stylists create stronger results with more confidence.

🎟️ Tickets + event details: http://www.theartistspaletteinvolved.org/hair-show-2026

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Yene Damtew and Jamal Edmonds talk about what it really takes to build a platform with substance, from showing up professionally and maintaining authentic relationships to collaborating with brands, uplifting other educators, creating opportunities for local talent, and using influence to build community instead of keeping the spotlight only on themselves.

They also share the origin and purpose behind Coil Confidential, an immersive textured-hair education event happening October 19 in Arlington, Virginia, created for stylists behind the chair and designed to bring together technical education, business conversations, community, and industry connection.

🚨🎤 Coil Confidential is a full-day textured-hair education experience created by Yene Damtew and Jamal Edmonds for stylists who want technical education, business conversations, community, and connection that reflect the real needs of professionals working behind the chair.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.coilconfidential.com/

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Build relationships before you need them - Yene and Jamal make it clear that Coil Confidential did not happen because of one post, one idea, or one moment of visibility. It came from years of maintaining relationships, showing up professionally, and building trust with brands, educators, salon owners, and industry peers.

🔅Let authenticity be the foundation of your platform - Their platforms work because they are rooted in what they actually care about: textured hair, education, community, professionalism, and creating better opportunities in the industry. A strong platform is not about copying someone else’s lane. It is about being clear on your own.

🔅Use your platform to create opportunity for others - Yene and Jamal could have centered themselves as the educators at their own event, but they chose to produce the experience and highlight other artists. That is a different level of leadership: using your credibility to open doors, not just stand in front of them.

🔅Collaboration can build something bigger than one person can - A major theme of the conversation is that their partnership works because their strengths are different and their purpose is aligned. When collaboration is built on trust, honesty, and shared values, the final product becomes stronger than either person could create alone.

🔅Professionalism is part of brand-building - They both talk about kindness, respect, not burning bridges, showing up prepared, doing the work, and understanding that people are always watching. Your reputation is not only built by what you post. It is built by how you act in rooms, on teams, with brands, and in difficult moments.

🔅Influence is not the same as impact - The conversation pushes back on the idea that follower count automatically equals value. Coil Confidential is built around educators and professionals who can make a real difference, not just people with large audiences. The takeaway: build a platform that means something beyond numbers.

🔅Create experiences with intention - Coil Confidential was designed around what Yene and Jamal felt was missing: education for textured-hair stylists behind the chair, business conversations, one main stage, community, thoughtful breaks, meaningful panels, and an experience where people feel their investment was worth it.

🚨🎤 Coil Confidential is a full-day textured-hair education experience created by Yene Damtew and Jamal Edmonds for stylists who want technical education, business conversations, community, and connection that reflect the real needs of professionals working behind the chair.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.coilconfidential.com/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Nathan Puksta, Founder & CEO of Filament Sciences, shares how he went from corporate beauty at L’Oréal to becoming a licensed beauty professional, entrepreneur, and product founder building a science-backed haircare brand.

Nathan talks about what it really takes to build a product line: understanding the market, solving a real problem, building relationships before you need them, working with chemists and manufacturers, developing a product from scratch, and knowing when an idea has true product-market fit.

This conversation breaks down the reality behind beauty entrepreneurship and what it takes to build with strategy, science, and purpose.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Solve a real problem before you build the brand - Nathan explains that Filament did not start with a cute name, bottle, or general product idea. It started with a problem: hair damage, strengthening, repair, and the need for a professional solution that could serve both stylists and clients. Before launching anything, identify the actual problem your product is built to solve.

🔅Do not confuse creativity with strategy - A product line cannot survive on “I like this idea” alone. Nathan talks about understanding the market, the consumer segment, the need state, and whether people are actually looking for what you want to sell. In beauty, strategy matters because the category is crowded, expensive, and competitive.

🔅Build relationships before you need favors - A major part of Nathan’s startup story came from the network he built over years in the industry. He was able to call on chemists, manufacturers, raw material suppliers, packaging contacts, and people who trusted him because he had already built goodwill. For entrepreneurs, the work you do today can become the access you need later.

🔅You do not have to be the chemist, but you do need to speak the language - Nathan is clear that he is not the person mixing molecules in the lab, but his background allowed him to brief experts, define the problem, understand the guardrails, and collaborate intelligently. The lesson is to let experts be experts, but learn enough to guide the vision and ask better questions.

🔅Product-market fit matters more than personal preference - Nathan says you can have a beautiful brand and a fun idea, but if the market is not looking for what you are selling, it will be difficult to succeed. The product has to meet an actual need, fit where the industry is going, and give people a reason to care.

🔅Use your own fingerprint as the brand advantage - Nathan’s advice to entrepreneurs is to focus on what makes you unique. Consumers and clients can feel when something is generic or inauthentic. The more clearly your brand reflects your real point of view, skill set, values, and experience, the more likely the right people are to connect with it.

🔅Understand that entrepreneurship is not just inspiration, it is risk - Nathan is honest that Filament represents years of work, relationships, money, energy, and belief. Building a product line is not just launching something because it sounds exciting. At some point, you have to decide what you believe in, commit to the work, and understand what is truly at stake.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Nathan on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nathaninthelab/

📸Follow Filament Sciences on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/filamentsciences

🧬Learn more about Filament Sciences and the product - https://filamentsciences.com/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

Are trends helping or hurting curls? In this episode of the Hairdresser Strong Show, we spoke with Stacey Prescott, curl scientist, educator, master cosmetologist, salon owner, author, and creator of CURLtelligence™, about science Over trends.

Stacey breaks down why curl care cannot only be based on trends, product claims, or one-size-fits-all advice. Her work focuses on understanding how natural curls actually behave, then using that knowledge to create better results, stronger consultations, and more trust with clients.

🚨🎤 Stacey Prescott will be taking the stage at the TAPIstry Unveiled Hair Show & Art Expo on October 26th in Hagerstown, MD, where she’ll introduce the fundamental principles behind CURLtelligence™, an evidence-based framework that explains how natural curls actually behave and how beauty professionals can use that knowledge to create better results, stronger consultations, and more trust with clients.

🎟️ Tickets + event details: www.theartistspaletteinvolved.org/hair-show-2026

Key Takeaways:

🔅Learn the why behind the product - Do not stop at “this is for frizz” or “this is for curls.” Stacey talks about understanding what ingredients actually do, when to use them, and when to adjust based on the client’s hair, goals, and environment.

🔅Stop relying only on trend-based curl advice - Curl care cannot be built only on what is popular online. Stacey’s approach is about understanding how natural curls actually behave so stylists can make better choices behind the chair.

🔅Use science to personalize the client experience - Better curl care comes from looking at the actual person in front of you: their curl pattern, hair condition, product history, climate, lifestyle, and what their hair is truly needing.

🔅Client trust grows when you can explain what you are doing - When stylists can explain the reason behind a product, treatment, or technique, clients are more likely to understand the value and trust the recommendation.

🔅Deeper knowledge can change the result - Stacey talks about clients who had been trying everything and still were not getting the outcome they wanted. Sometimes the shift comes from knowing what is actually happening in the hair, not adding more random products.

🔅Mistakes are not failures - One of Stacey’s biggest mindset shifts was learning that mistakes reveal where you can grow. They do not mean you are not capable, and they do not define your worth as a professional.

🔅Never stop learning - The industry keeps evolving, and Stacey’s work is built on continuing to study, question, test, and translate deeper knowledge into real work behind the chair.

RELATED LINKS

📱Follow Stacey on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/byscurls/

🔑Learn more about Stacey & CURLtelligence™ - https://linktr.ee/staceysolumprescott

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Ricky Hodge, celebrity hairstylist, educator, content creator, and 19-year industry veteran, shares his perspective on what it really means to stand out as a hairdresser.

Ricky talks about stepping out of the box, building a personal brand, curating the right clientele, raising prices with confidence, and understanding that the haircut is only one part of the client experience. He also opens up about starting later in the industry, dealing with salon toxicity, becoming an educator, and using his platform to speak honestly about the profession.

For hairstylists, barbers, students, and beauty pros who want to build a career that feels more intentional, this conversation explores the voice of the hairdresser: the ambition, frustration, self-awareness, presentation, relationships, and client standards that shape success behind the chair.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Step out of the box if you want to be recognized - Ricky says hairstylists often stay in a box by doing what they are told and moving through the motions. His perspective is that being different is part of becoming exceptional. For beauty pros, the takeaway is not to be different just to be different, but to find the thing that separates your work, your point of view, your presentation, or your client experience from everyone else.

🔅Curate the clientele you actually want - Ricky does not just talk about building a clientele. He talks about curating one. That means your pricing, environment, presentation, timing, communication, and service experience should all point toward the kind of client you want more of. The clients you attract are often a reflection of how clearly you show up.

🔅Remember that the haircut is not the whole experience - Ricky says when a client sits in your chair, the haircut is only part of what they are paying for. The rest is how you show up, how you dress, your website, your salon environment, the people around you, and the way the client feels through the experience. Technical skill matters, but it is not the only thing that builds value.

🔅Use your schedule to know when to raise prices - Ricky’s pricing advice is tied to demand. When he was booked out two to three months, he raised his prices aggressively, not just to make more money, but to create space and reshape his clientele. For stylists, the takeaway is to stop guessing and start looking at your schedule, demand, availability, and capacity before making pricing decisions.

🔅New stylists need real hands-on experience - Ricky believes new cosmetology graduates should work in a salon environment after school, but he pushes back on the idea that they should only sweep hair, shampoo, and hand foils for a year. His view is that new stylists need support, training, and real opportunities to get their hands in the work so they can grow faster and stay in the profession.

🔅Toxic salon culture pushes good people out - Ricky shares that he would have stayed at one of his early salons if he had been treated well. Instead, the lack of support, jealousy, and toxic behavior pushed him to leave and build his own path. For owners, the takeaway is clear: if you want to keep ambitious people, you have to address the culture, have real conversations, and support the people who are trying to grow.

🔅Build a voice, not just a following - Ricky talks about having a platform and wanting to use his voice because he has something to say. His audience did not grow only because of hair technique. It grew because of his point of view, his transparency, his positivity, and the way he talks about the value of hairdressers. The takeaway is that branding is not just being seen. It is being known for something.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Ricky on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rickyhodge/

📸Learn more about Ricky - https://www.rickyhodge.com/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

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📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Elizabeth Faye, shares how she went from finding her way into the beauty industry as a teenager to building community, education, and wellness platforms for beauty professionals.

Elizabeth talks about the experiences that shaped her career, from working behind the chair and owning a salon to building Hair Love retreats, serving schools and salons through The Vitality Project, and developing wellness technology for the industry.

For beauty pros, educators, salon owners, and entrepreneurs who care about mental health, community, innovation, and the future of the industry, this conversation explores what it takes to build something meaningful without losing the heart behind it.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Build from lived experience - Elizabeth’s work is rooted in the fact that hairdressing changed her own life. Her story is not about randomly choosing wellness as a business category. It came from understanding how powerful this industry can be when people feel seen, supported, and connected.

🔅Turn community into a business model - Hair Love started through workshops, retreats, education, and real relationships. Over time, those experiences became the foundation for The Vitality Project. The takeaway is to pay attention to what people keep asking for, then build structure around what is already working.

🔅Relationships are part of the strategy - Elizabeth said that if her success were a math equation, it would be all relationships. For beauty pros and entrepreneurs, that means showing up, collaborating, supporting people, and building real connections can open more doors than trying to grow alone.

🔅Start where you are with mentorship - Elizabeth has invested heavily in mentors, but she also started by trading hair for business coaching. The lesson is that mentorship does not always have to start with a huge budget. It can start with a trade, a meetup, a course, a book, a conversation, or finding someone who can help you see the next step.

🔅Wellness is business infrastructure - Elizabeth does not treat mental health, emotional resilience, nervous system regulation, and community as extra. She sees them as part of what helps beauty pros, educators, owners, and teams function better. Wellness is not separate from success when people are the business.

🔅Use tech to support the human side of the industry - The Vitality Project uses courses, coaching, surveys, dashboards, community, on-demand practices, gamification, and AI. But the point is not tech for tech’s sake. The point is using technology to make wellness, support, and connection easier to access.

🔅Do not let “I’m not that kind of person” become the ceiling - Elizabeth talked about owning the identity of tech founder even though she came from hair, coaching, creativity, and wellness. The takeaway is that creatives can learn hard things. “I’m not a tech person,” “I’m not a money person,” or “I’m not a business person” cannot be the thing that stops the next version of the business.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Elizabeth on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/heyelizabethfaye/

📸 Follow The Vitality Project on Instagram on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jointhevitalityproject/

📸Learn more about Elizabeth and her programs - https://heyelizabethfaye.com/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Demetrios Bafitis, stylist, barber, and multi-location salon owner of Bella Bethesda and Jordan Thomas Salon & Spa, shares how he went from working seven days a week behind the chair to running his salons remotely while spending much of his time in Greece.

Demetrios talks about what it really takes to step away from behind the chair and work on the business, not just in it: building a leadership team, creating systems, letting go of control, offering flexibility and benefits, reinvesting in the team, and making the salon about more than the owner.

For salon owners who feel stretched thin or are trying to pivot, this conversation breaks down the mindset, structure, and team development needed to build a business that can run without everything depending on you.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Start by measuring how much the business depends on you - Demetrios shares a rule of thumb from his coach: if you are an owner behind the chair, you do not want to be more than about 10 to 12 percent of the salon’s service production. If your salon does $1 million and you personally produce $200,000, the first move is not simply “take more time off.” It is to build a team that can sustain the business without that much revenue depending on your hands.

🔅Do not confuse stepping away with disappearing - Demetrios still stays connected through daily check-ins, Zooms, leadership meetings, and regular travel back to the States. The shift is not from “present” to “absent.” The shift is from being the person doing everything to being the person leading, supporting, and building the structure.

🔅Build a leadership team before you expect freedom - At Bella, Amanda runs day-to-day operations. At Jordan Thomas, Mindy manages both locations. Zuzanna works across all three. Demetrios is able to step back because there are trusted people assigned to real leadership responsibilities, not because the business is magically self-running.

🔅Put systems around the business, not just talent behind the chair - Demetrios talks about systems, coaching, law firms, accounting firms, leadership support, and structured check-ins. Owners who want to step away need more than great stylists. They need clear processes for operations, finances, compliance, education, scheduling, communication, and decision-making.

🔅Let go of making the salon about you - One of the biggest mindset shifts Demetrios names is making the business about the team instead of the owner. He says he can walk into his salons and some people do not know he is the owner, and he is okay with that. For many owners, that is emotionally hard. But if the brand only works because the owner is visible, available, and personally producing, the owner has not really built freedom yet.

🔅Reinvest in the team before expecting loyalty - Demetrios connects loyalty to what the business actually provides: benefits, health insurance support, paid education, sick leave, vacation pay, maternity/paternal leave, and reinvestment back into the team. His point is that owners cannot expect people to stay if the business does not give them real reasons to build a career there.

🔅Flexibility still needs structure - Demetrios talks about adapting to modern talent and work-life balance, but he does not describe it as a free-for-all. He uses the idea of “free structure,” meaning flexibility within a system that still works for the business. Schedules can vary, but the team also has to understand demand, peak hours, weekends, financial implications, and the level system.

🔅Use career paths to make staying worthwhile - His structure includes an associate program, level system, assistants, leadership opportunities, shareholder options, and phantom stock. The message for owners is clear: if you want people to stay, they need to see more than a chair. They need to see a future.

🔅Train people faster, but do not skip standards - Demetrios wants associates on the floor quickly, ideally around six months, because it benefits the stylist and the business. But he also talks about weekly classes, bi-weekly classes, a rolling curriculum, consultation, cutting, color formulation, color application, on-the-job training, and the need for self-starters. Speed only works when training has structure.

🔅Hire for the person, then teach the skill - Demetrios says they mostly hire the personality, not the skill, because they believe skill can be taught. For owners, that means the hiring process should look beyond technical ability and ask: Is this person coachable? Do they want to work? Do they fit the culture? Will they grow inside the system?

🔅Be honest about the financial risk of ownership - Demetrios talks openly about owner financing, savings, loans, using a 401k loan, bank financing, collateral, and putting his signature on the line. For owners who want to grow, buy in, or acquire, the takeaway is not “go take reckless risks.” It is to understand credit, taxes, lending, cash, legal structure, and what kind of risk you are actually agreeing to.

🔅Share the upside with the people helping you build - Demetrios’ leadership team members are shareholders, and he also discusses buy-in opportunities and phantom stock. This is a major point for stressed owners: if you want people to think beyond their station, contribute to the larger company, and help carry the business, there has to be a way for the upside to reach them too.

🔅Build a business people want to protect - The big idea is that stepping away is not just operational. It is cultural. People are more likely to protect a business when they feel respected, compensated, developed, included, and connected to its future. Remote ownership becomes possible only when the people inside the business have a reason to care when you are not in the building.

🔅Understand that freedom is built in stages - Demetrios went from barber, to cosmetologist, to assistant, to employee, to high producer, to buying into Bella, to sole owner, to acquiring Jordan Thomas, to building a leadership structure that lets him work from Greece. The lesson for stressed owners is to stop looking for one move that fixes everything. The pivot happens through a sequence of decisions, systems, people, and investments.

🔅Decide what you are really trying to build - Some owners want to work behind the chair forever, and that can be fine. But if you want the business to run without you, the choices have to match that goal. That means building leadership, reducing dependence on your own production, creating team incentives, documenting systems, investing in benefits, and accepting that the salon’s brand cannot revolve only around you.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Demetrious on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dbafitis/

📸 Follow Bella Bethesda Salon on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bellabethesda/

📸Follow Jordan Thomas Salon on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jordanthomassalon/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Mike Gilman, CEO & Founder of Grooming Lounge, shares the story behind building one of the early men’s grooming destinations and sustaining the brand for more than two decades. Mike talks about growing up around the beauty industry, spotting an opportunity in men’s grooming before it became mainstream, launching an e-commerce site from his basement, and eventually opening a physical Grooming Lounge location at a time when landlords still questioned whether men would pay for grooming services.

He also breaks down what it really takes to stay in business long term: hiring the right people, building a team around strong standards, focusing on what you do best, knowing when to stop what isn’t working, and creating a service experience strong enough to become a destination.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Solve a real problem, not just a trend - Mike saw that men wanted grooming solutions, but many did not feel comfortable asking for them in traditional beauty or retail environments. Grooming Lounge was built around solving that discomfort.

🔅Make the offer easy to understand - Early Grooming Lounge messaging was focused on problems and solutions, not complicated product language. Instead of leading with ingredients or fluff, they focused on what men were actually trying to fix.

🔅Education builds trust - The original website was heavy on education because Mike understood that a lot of men did not know what they needed. Teaching people became part of the business model.

🔅Being first is not enough - Grooming Lounge had first-mover advantage, but the business still had to deliver great service, customer experience, technical quality, and a clear brand promise.

🔅Do not lower the bar just because you need people - In the early years, Mike admits they accepted behavior they probably should not have accepted because they needed enough people to serve clients. Over time, they learned to hold stronger standards.

🔅Train people into your way of doing things - Grooming Lounge wanted people who could learn their systems, from greeting guests to consultation, service, retail, and customer experience.

🔅Professionalism matters - Mike’s team is built around people who treat every guest like the visit matters. Talent is important, but professionalism, kindness, consistency, and maturity are what make the experience work.

🔅Expansion teaches expensive lessons - When Grooming Lounge opened outside the DC area, Mike learned that distance, timing, recruiting, build-out costs, and management attention all matter. Growth that pulls too much energy from what is working can become a distraction.

🔅Focus on what you are great at - One of Mike’s biggest long-term lessons is to stop trying to be all things to all people. The businesses that last know what they do well and become excellent at it.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Grooming Lounge on Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/groominglounge/

📸Learn more Grooming Lounge products, barbershops, and spas -https://www.groominglounge.com/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Filipe Santos (@chop_safil), CEO of Chop Enterprises, shares how he went from tattoo artist and union carpenter to building a multi-location salon company with nine salons across New York, New Jersey, and Miami.

Filipe breaks down the growth, leadership, and execution behind scaling from one salon to nine, including how he built leaders, created systems, recruited talent, used marketing, acquired salons, negotiated owner financing, and developed a shared services platform to support growth.

This conversation is for salon owners, beauty pros, and hairpreneurs who know that talent is only one part of building a real business.

Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!

Key Takeaways:

🔅Your first salon teaches you the hardest lessons - Filipe explains that the first business is usually the most difficult because you are breaking barriers you have never faced before. Once you learn how to build the first one, you can start duplicating the process with stronger systems.

🔅What gets you to $1 million will not get you to $5 million - The systems, leadership, and decision-making that get you started are not always enough for the next stage. Growth requires new structure.

🔅Every salon needs leadership, not just ownership - Each Chop location has its own leader, and the leadership team meets weekly to review metrics, game plan, and get resources. Scaling requires leaders who can carry the standards into each location.

🔅Recruiting is a business skill - Filipe challenges the emotional idea of “poaching” and reframes recruiting as giving talented people an opportunity. If you want to grow, you need to learn how to attract talent.

🔅A new hire needs a reason to move - Filipe said when someone joins, they need to make more money or experience a clear benefit. If they leave their current situation to make the same or less, that creates problems later.

🔅Train for more than technical skill - Filipe’s assistant program includes phones, hospitality, booking, cancellations, POS systems, client communication, language, business, and numbers before someone fully moves behind the chair. Filipe says skill can be taught, but energy, work ethic, and alignment determine whether someone fits the business.

🔅Owners need business education outside the beauty industry - Filipe makes the case that business principles are not only “hair business” principles. Salon owners need to study business, marketing, leadership, operations, and strategy from outside the industry too.

🔅Acquisition can be faster than opening from scratch - Filipe explains that buying an existing salon can come with staff, cash flow, and infrastructure, but you have to know how to audit the business, see the waste, and improve the operation.

🔅Owner financing can create succession opportunities - Filipe breaks down how price, down payment, and interest can all be negotiated when buying a salon, creating a potential path for owners who want to sell and operators who want to grow.

🔅Shared services could change the salon industry - Filipe’s shared services platform idea is about giving salons access to systems, education, discounts, resources, and operational support without forcing every owner to figure everything out alone.

🔅The owner narrative needs to change - Filipe talks about how owners have had “bad PR” and how the industry needs more honest conversations about the real value owners create, the opportunities they provide, and the performance required to earn more.

RELATED LINKS

📸Follow Filipe on Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/chop_safil/

📸Learn more about Filipe's Salons -https://www.chopentllc.com/about-chop-enterprises#:~:text=built%20for%20decades.-,SALON%20OPERATIONS,-Chop%20Enterprises%27%20journey

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

You can be booked, busy, and making money, and still not understand what is actually happening inside your business.

In this episode, Chrystal Graves, Founder & CEO of LiQUiD, shares how her career took her from apprentice to salon owner, from scaling multiple salon concepts to selling her salon, and now into building an AI-powered business tool for beauty professionals. She breaks down why understanding your numbers, systems, pricing, expenses, and take-home pay matters, and why beauty pros need stronger business foundations if they want to stop guessing and start making decisions that actually support growth.

Key Takeaways:

🔅Being booked is not the same as being profitable - Chrystal makes it clear that a busy book does not automatically mean the business is working. Beauty pros still need to understand pricing, expenses, take-home pay, and what is actually left over.

🔅You cannot make smart decisions without knowing your numbers - Before deciding whether to raise prices, sell more retail, hire help, open a salon, or change your business model, you need to understand the foundations of your business.

🔅Your take-home pay matters - Chrystal points out that people talk a lot about what the business needs, but not enough about what the business needs to generate so you can actually pay your bills at home.

🔅Pricing should not be based on guessing - If you do not know your break-even point, dream number, expenses, and profit goals, it is easy to price from emotion, comparison, or pressure instead of real information.

🔅Systems create freedom - Chrystal defines scaling as being able to remove yourself from parts of the business by using people, systems, or technology so the business can keep making money without everything depending on you.

🔅If the business only works because of you, it is not ready to sell - Chrystal explains that if clients only come because you are the person doing the hair, it is hard to put real value on the business.

🔅Leadership is the owner’s job - When Chrystal stepped away from the chair, she focused on leadership, numbers, and supporting her team. That shift helped the business operate beyond her personal client book.

🔅Successful owners can still be burnt out without systems - Chrystal shares the example of a salon owner with a beautiful business and a large team who was still exhausted because she was moving every lever herself.

🔅Technology should support better decisions, not replace business foundations - Chrystal’s point is not that AI is magic. It is that technology works best when it is connected to your actual numbers, goals, clients, and business reality.

🔅Beauty pros need to stop guessing and start building from the foundations - The bigger message is that talent matters, but business literacy, systems, numbers, and decision-making are what help create long-term growth.

RELATED LINKS

📱Follow Chrystal on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thechrystalgraves/

📱Follow LiQUiD on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/getliquidai/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

You can care deeply about your team and still be missing the structure that helps them stay.

That is the part a lot of salon/shop owners feel, but do not always know how to fix.

In this episode, Eva DuPont, Director of Business Development at Infiniti HR, breaks down why building a team that stays is not just about hiring good people, it is about creating clarity around expectations, compensation, benefits, HR, payroll, compliance, and growth. She explains how small gaps in structure can turn into bigger problems over time, and how salon owners can start building a more professional, protected, and supportive business from the inside.

🚨🎤 Eva will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where she'll help owners evaluate their own business, identify what may be attracting or pushing away talent, understand common payroll mistakes, and leave with clear next steps based on their stage of business.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅A team that stays needs structure - Retention is not only about being a good person or having a good vibe. Team members need clear communication, expectations, policies, growth pathways, and compensation structure.

🔅HR (human resources) is part of the full employee experience - Eva explains that HR touches the entire employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding to communication, documentation, payroll, benefits, and what happens when someone leaves.

🔅Compensation needs to be clearly communicated - Pay structure should not be vague or assumed. Owners need to be clear about how people are paid, what growth looks like, and what opportunities exist.

🔅Benefits are part of compensation - Pay is not the only thing team members care about. Benefits, PTO, sick time, 401k options, employee assistance programs, and voluntary benefits can all help people feel more supported.

🔅People stay where they feel valued - Eva shares that team members are more likely to stay when they feel cared for, supported, and able to grow.

🔅HR does not feel urgent until something goes wrong - Many owners do not think about HR until there is a problem, a complaint, a legal letter, a payroll issue, or a labor law concern.

🔅Misclassification can be expensive - Eva talks about how classifying workers incorrectly can create serious fines, penalties, and legal exposure for a business.

🔅Employee handbooks and documentation matter - A legally reviewed handbook, clear policies, and written expectations can help protect the business and create more consistency for the team.

🔅A PEO can help small businesses access bigger-business support - Eva explains that a PEO can support payroll, HR, workers comp, liability protection, and benefits by giving small businesses access to a larger employee pool.

🔅Being proactive is cheaper than being reactive - It is better to understand your exposure, get systems in place, and correct issues early than wait until a problem becomes expensive.

RELATED LINKS

📱Follow Eva on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eva_peo_consultant/

🔑Learn more about how Eva & Infiniti HR can help you - https://www.salonhrpartner.com/salonhrpartner

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

We spoke with Zach Zinober, Social Media Advisor at Crystal Hook Media, about what it really means to stop posting and hoping and start building a social media system that supports your brand.

This Live turned into a full social media Q&A covering posting frequency, motivating staff to post, TikTok, rebuilding a brand, algorithm changes, reusing content, planning ahead, and making social media feel less overwhelming.

🎧Quick Note: There are a couple of brief moments where the audio quality drops due to connection issues. Thanks for sticking with us!

🚨🎤 Zach Zinober will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on how beauty pros can stop posting and hoping, define their brand, build a repeatable content system, and use social media to communicate value, attract attention, and turn viewers into clients.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅Stop starting from scratch every time - Zach explains that a content system helps you stop rethinking every post and gives you a repeatable structure to work from.

🔅Your content should match your brand - Before posting more, look at whether your current content actually reflects the feeling, image, and message you want your salon or personal brand to communicate.

🔅Posting frequency depends on the system - Zach generally recommends around three to four posts per week for salons, but the bigger goal is consistency that fits your brand and capacity.

🔅Reels and carousels can serve different purposes - Reels can help with discovery, while carousels can support education, storytelling, or deeper brand messaging.

🔅Staff need to understand the value - If you want team members to post, show them how social media can help them build their own clientele, not just help the salon.

🔅Younger clients are discovering businesses through social media - Zach explains that people increasingly use Instagram and TikTok to decide where to eat, shop, travel, and book services.

🔅Plan content monthly - Planning ahead makes posting less emotional, less last-minute, and easier to follow through on.

🔅Do not delete your content - Save photos, videos, raw clips, and finished posts so you can reuse, remix, and repurpose them later.

🔅Social media should reduce guessing, not create more stress - The creator approach is about building a structure that makes posting feel more manageable and less like constant pressure.

🚨🎤 Zach Zinober will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on how beauty pros can stop posting and hoping, define their brand, build a repeatable content system, and use social media to communicate value, attract attention, and turn viewers into clients.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

RELATED LINKS

📱Follow Zach on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/crystalhook_media/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

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📺Watch on YouTube

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The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

🌿As beauty pros, we spend our days listening, creating, problem-solving, holding space, managing energy, and helping other people feel better. But without tools to regulate our own nervous system, it is easy to carry everyone else’s stress home with us.

In this episode, Wafaya Abdallah, Owner ofOasis Curl Salon, mindful meditation teacher, and certified life coach, shares how mindfulness can help busy beauty pros regulate stress, stay present with clients, and protect their own energy behind the chair.

She explains why meditation is not about doing it perfectly, how small daily practices can support emotional resilience, and why learning to pause, breathe, and respond instead of react can change the way we work and live.

🚨🎤 Wafaya Abdallah will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on wellness, self-regulation, emotional resilience, and how beauty pros can live and work with more presence, clarity, and calm.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅Mindfulness is not just about meditation - Wafaya explains that meditation is one tool, but the bigger goal is self-regulation, resilience, and learning how to manage your thoughts, emotions, and responses.

🔅You are not bad at meditation because your mind wanders - The wandering mind is part of the practice. The work is noticing it without judgment and coming back to your breath, your body, or the present moment.

🔅Beauty pros need tools for emotional regulation - Clients bring stress, stories, complaints, and energy into the salon. Learning to breathe and stay present helps you respond without taking everything on.

🔅Your breath can help you stay professional in hard moments - Wafaya shares that breathing through the heart area can help calm the nervous system, keep you out of fight, flight, or freeze, and support a better response.

🔅Stress does not just live in your mind - Chronic stress can affect the body, emotions, decision-making, creativity, and overall well-being.

🔅Self-awareness changes the client experience - When you can notice what is happening inside of you, you can pause, regulate, and show up with more clarity for yourself, your team, and your clients.

🔅Mindfulness can be part of salon culture - Wafaya uses meditation in salon meetings and huddles to help the team become present before beginning the day.

🔅You do not have to do it one way - Guided meditation, walking meditation, sitting in silence, candle meditation, breathwork, journaling, and time in nature can all be ways to practice being present.

🔅Question the story before you believe it - When you start overthinking, spiraling, or assuming the worst, Wafaya suggests using multiple perspectives and empowering questions. Instead of immediately believing “they hate me” or “this is all going wrong,” pause and ask: “What else could be true?” or “What if this is helping me grow?”

RELATED LINKS

👉Follow Oasis Curl Salon on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/curlyoasis/

👉 Follow Wafaya on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yinrizingofficial/

🚨🎤 Wafaya Abdallah will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on wellness, self-regulation, emotional resilience, and how beauty pros can live and work with more presence, clarity, and calm.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

You can be busy all day and still feel like nothing is really growing. That is the part a lot of beauty pros feel, but do not always know how to name.

In this episode, Mireya Villarreal, Founder of From Chair to Boss™ and Pink Pewter, breaks down why time management is not just about being organized, it is about understanding what your time is worth and using it to grow. She shares how restructuring her own business after a major setback changed the way she viewed every minute, and how beauty pros can stop wasting time, shift their habits, and turn more of their energy into income, clarity, and opportunity.

🚨🎤 Mireya Villarreal will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on how beauty pros can stop letting time slip away, understand what their minutes are actually worth, identify the habits costing them growth, and create a clearer way to turn time into income, clarity, and opportunity.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅Your time has a dollar value - Mireya challenges beauty pros to stop thinking only in hours and start understanding what their time is worth by the minute.

🔅Being busy is not the same as growing - A full day does not automatically mean you are moving your business forward. Growth requires knowing where your time is going and whether it is creating income, clarity, or opportunity.

🔅Social media can be a tool or a distraction - Mireya calls out social media as one of the biggest places beauty pros lose time when they are consuming, scrolling, or watching other people instead of using it with purpose.

🔅Downtime should be redirected toward growth - When you are not booked, that time can be used to rebook clients, look for opportunities, follow up, collaborate locally, improve your booking systems, or bring new people into your chair.

🔅Habits determine growth - If you want more clients, more income, or a bigger opportunity, the daily habits have to match the goal.

🔅You have to know where you are wasting time before you can fix it - Mireya’s workshop is designed to help attendees see their time in front of them so they can identify what is costing them money.

🔅Growth starts with mindset and business skills - Mireya explains that beauty pros are taught to be talented with their hands, but they also need business education, time awareness, and entrepreneurial thinking to expand.

🔅Experience matters - Mireya built Pink Pewter from her kitchen table into an international brand, rebuilt after a major business setback, and now uses those lessons to help other beauty pros avoid costly mistakes.

RELATED LINKS

👉Follow Mireya onhttps://www.instagram.com/winnclaybaugh/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mireya_villarreal_/

👉Follow From Chair to Boss™ on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fromchairtoboss/

👉Follow Pink Pewter on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/pinkpewter/

🚨🎤 Mireya Villarreal will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on how beauty pros can stop letting time slip away, understand what their minutes are actually worth, identify the habits costing them growth, and create a clearer way to turn time into income, clarity, and opportunity.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

You do not need to be rich to start investing. But you do need a plan.

In this episode, Nicole Carson, CFP®, MBA and founder of 2nd Story Wealth Planners, breaks down how beauty professionals can start building an investment plan around real-life factors like debt, uneven income, taxes, retirement goals, and fear of the market.

She explains why investing is not only for wealthy people and how consistency, time, and a clear plan can help beauty pros build long-term financial security.

🚨🎤 Nicole Carson will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on how beauty pros can stop putting wealth-building off, understand their investment options, plan for retirement, and create a simple framework to start building long-term financial security from where they are now.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅You do not need to be wealthy to start investing - Nicole explains that investing is not only for millionaires, and many people can begin with a small monthly amount.

🔅Debt does not always mean you have to wait - Nicole says paying down debt and investing can happen together, depending on the type of debt, your goals, and your timeline.

🔅Your investment plan starts with your goal - Retirement, buying a home, building wealth, or creating more freedom all require different strategies.

🔅Uneven income needs a system - Beauty pros often have income that changes week to week, so looking at your average income over time can help you choose a realistic amount to save or invest.

🔅Emergency money should stay accessible - Money you may need quickly, like emergency savings or tax money, should usually be kept somewhere easier to access.

🔅Time in the market matters more than timing the market - Nicole explains that trying to wait for the perfect time can keep people stuck, while consistent investing helps build over time.

🔅Investing feels emotional because money is emotional - Fear of losing money, choosing the wrong investment, or not knowing enough can stop people from starting.

🔅Taxes have to be part of the plan - For 1099 workers, suite owners, and business owners, saving for taxes regularly is part of building financial stability.

🔅Wealth is usually built through consistency - This conversation is not about getting rich quick. It is about steady habits, clear goals, and staying committed over time.

RELATED LINKS

👉Follow Nicole onhttps://www.instagram.com/winnclaybaugh/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nicolecarson.fp/

👉Follow 2nd Story Wealth Planners on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/2nd_storywealth/

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com

In this episode, Jozlyn Miller, Manager of Education and Industry Expert at Boulevard, breaks down why retention may be one of the most profitable growth strategies beauty professionals are underusing.

She shares how improving the client experience, rebooking conversations, service add-ons, memberships, and client education can help salons and spas increase revenue from existing clients.

🚨🎤 Jozlyn will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on untapped revenue, elevating the client experience, empowering your team, and the proven retention strategies that help beauty pros stop chasing new clients, drive fierce loyalty, and unlock the profit already sitting in their existing books.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

Key Takeaways:

🔅Your next revenue opportunity may already be in your client list - Jozlyn explains that current clients, past clients, and loyal repeat clients all create opportunities to increase revenue without only chasing new business.

🔅Retention starts with the full client journey - Booking, consultation, service, checkout, rebooking, follow-up, and return visits all shape whether a client comes back.

🔅Rebooking needs more intention - Instead of simply asking, “Do you want to rebook?” guide the client toward the timing, reason, and value of their next appointment.

🔅Client experience creates word-of-mouth growth - When clients feel valued, cared for, and treated like VIPs, they are more likely to talk about the business and refer people.

🔅Your team needs to understand the vision - If owners want a better client experience, the team needs education, language, and tools to deliver it consistently.

🔅Add-ons, memberships, and packages can grow revenue - The opportunity is not just offering them, but training the team to communicate their value without sounding salesy.

🔅Retention is a revenue strategy - Better communication, education, consistency, trust, loyalty, and referrals all connect back to stronger revenue.

🚨🎤 Jozlyn will be taking the stage at the 4th annual Beauty Business Brunch on July 19th in Washington, DC, where we’ll go deeper on untapped revenue, elevating the client experience, empowering your team, and the proven retention strategies that help beauty pros stop chasing new clients, drive fierce loyalty, and unlock the profit already sitting in their existing books.

👀Learn more and join us: https://www.hairdresserstrong.com/beauty-business-brunch

RELATED LINKS

👉Follow Jozlyn onhttps://www.instagram.com/winnclaybaugh/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jozlyn.deshawn/

👉Follow Boulevard on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joinblvd/

Boulevardhttps://www.joinblvd.com/salon-softwareis an all-in-one business management and client experience platform purpose-built to streamline daily operations for salons, spas, and independent beauty professionals. It empowers hairdressers by handling online booking, smart calendar scheduling, automated client reminders, marketing, and point-of-sale checkout in one seamless system, allowing you to maximize your revenue and focus on your craft.

The Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.

CONNECT WITH US

📬Subscribe to our free newsletter

📸Connect on Instagram

🎵Connect on TikTok

📺Watch on YouTube

📝Check out our Blog

The views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com